The Federal Election Commission fined U.S. Representative Frank Kratovil, D-MD, for failing to comply with the 48-hour reporting rule for 26 donations his campaign received during the final three weeks before the November 2008 general election. The $3,860 fine was paid by the Kratovil campaign on April 30, said Christian Hilland, of the FEC. Prior to his Congressional bid, Kratovil had served six years as Queen Anne’s County states attorney. Under FEC regulations, donations of $1,000 or more that are received by a campaign starting 20 days before an election, and up to two days before an election, are to be reported within 48 hours to the FEC. Hilland said the Kratovil campaign did not notify the FEC within 48 hours of 26 donations totaling $35,300 that the campaign received between October 16 and November 1, 2008.

Kevin Lawlor, a spokesman for Kratovil, said the campaign received an awful lot of contributions during the final weeks before the election, making it harder to meet the 48-hour filing requirement. Lawlor said contributions totaling about $200,000 were reported to the FEC within 48 hours, and the other donations that were not reported on time were all eventually reported. The FEC fine was reported June 30 in the Maryland Politics blog of The Baltimore Sun, which prompted a comment from Andy Sere, regional press secretary for the National Republican Congressional Committee. Lawlor said the late reporting to the FEC was due to an administrative backlog, and the fine was paid.